Ceiling board lifter



April 10, 1962 J. c. DICKENS CEILING BOARD LIFTER Filed Dec. 25, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I o U 82 Jerry 6. Dickens 1N VEN TOR.

April 10, 1962 J. c. DICKENS 3,028,978

CEILING BOARD LIFTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed. Dec. 23, 1958 BY @Mm WWW 3M3 April 10, 1962 J. c. DICKENS CEILING BOARD LIFTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 23, 1958 Fig. 3

Jerry 6. Dickens 1N VEN TOR.

United States Patent Ofihce 3,928,978 Patented Apr. 10, 1962 toria, Tex.

Filed Dec. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 782,581

6 Claims. (Cl. 214-1) This invention relates to a device for facilitating the preparation and application of ceiling board, for instance panels, when applied overhead and at any ceiling angle.

An object of the invention is to provide a mechanically simple, versatile device providing a work area for cutting or otherwise working on a ceiling board panel and for lifting the panel to an elevated position at which it may be fastened in place, for instance nailed. v

A device in accordance with this invention has a number of easily used adjustments making it possible and practical to move the device from one room to another without dismantling the device. A material saving in time and effort is achieved in this way.

Another object of the invention is to provide a manually powered ceiling board lifting and placing device which has a base that is adjustably constructed so as to enable the device to be easily moved through doorways, and which is adjustable in another way to assure that the ceiling board is presented to the supporting structure in an orientation which is parallel to that supporting structure. The device is also provided with a frame which is movable on an upright that is carried by the base. The upright is capable of being swung to a selected position to further facilitate moving the device from one room to another, and the ceiling board supporting frame is separable from the upright to further contribute to the versatility and ease of use of the device.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the device.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the device.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, parts being shown in elevation and other parts being shown in section.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged elevation view of the top of the upright and pulleys for the lift cable at the top part of the upright.

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view of the ceiling board lift arm slide and upright.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken on the line 66 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view of the side of the cable winding mechanism.

FIGURE 8 is a view of the mechanism in FIGURE 7.

In the accompanying drawings there is a device 10 which serves numerous purposes, the chief purposes being to provide a work supporting surface and a lift for a ceiling board to move it in place overhead and hold it while it is being nailed or otherwise fastened in place.

Device 10 is constructed of a base 12, an upright 14, a work supporting frame 16 and means 18 to lift the work supporting frame 16. Base 12 is composed of tubing, galvanized pipe, or like lightweight strong material. There is a horizontal member 20 and a telescopic central bar comprising a horizontal member 22, each of these members being hollow and attached to a center upright sleeve 24. Center supporting sleeve 24 is welded to an intermediate part of member 22, and member 2!} is made of two parts 26 and 28 welded to the sleeve 24 and essentially coplanar with member 22. A tubular extension member 30 is slidably disposed in one end of member 22 and has a transverse front member 32 secured to the end thereof. Four vertical legs 34 are at the ends of members 20 and 32 respectively. The legs are vertically adjustable so that the angularity of the base may be correspondingly adjusted. To obtain the leg adjustment, each leg is composed of a spindle 36 with a wheel 38 at its lower end and carried by a wheel support 40. The wheel support is fixed to the spindle, and the spindle is slidable through an open ended socket 42 that is welded or otherwise secured to the end of its frame member 32 or 20. Setscrew'44 is threaded in an opening in socket 42 and engages spindle 34 so that the spindle may he slid into the socket and held in place in any selected position. It is evident that the base 12 may be adjusted by sliding the spindles of the legs to a selected position and holding them in place by tightening the setscrew 44. Upright 14 is made of a square tube 46 with the lower open end thereof disposed on and receiving a post or pin 48 which is welded or otherwise secured within and to the sleeve 24. A lower setscrew 50 is carried by the square tube 46 of the upright and engages pin 48 to hold the upright in a selected rotational adjustment. The square tube 46 of the upright may be rotated about an axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of pin 48 and held in place by tightening setscrew 50. The upper end of the square tube has a pin 54 welded or otherwise fixed'therein, andthere is a cap 56 mounted rotationally on pin 54. The cap 56 has a setscrew 57 therein to hold the cap in a selected adjusted position with reference to pin 54 by 1 engaging pin 54. This setscrew, though, maybe omitted inasmuch as the pull of cable 63 will maintain the cap in the correct position during the operation of device 10. The cap 56 has a brace 62 welded to the same, and it is angled downwardly and outwardly from the cap and passed through an open ended socket 64 which is fixed for instance, by being welded, to the rear extremity of member 22. Setscrew '66 is in socket 64 and engages brace 62 to hold the brace in a fixed position. Yet, the brace 62, cap 56 and structure carried by the brace and cap may be separated from the upright 14 by loosening setscrew 66 and lifting the brace. There is enough clearance between brace 62 andsocket 64 to permit this adjustment.

The work supporting frame 16 is composed of an essentially'rectangular frame member 63 having four sides. Diagonal braces 70 extend from the corners of the frame 68 and are welded or otherwise secured to sleeve 72 at the center of the frame. Transverse braces 74 extend across the frame 68 at approximately the center thereof, and the transverse braces are essentially coplanar with the upper surface of frame 68. The sleeve 72 has a closed upper end, and a setscrew 76 intermediate its ends. The sleeve 72 is disposed on the upper end of post 78, this post extending through open ended socket 80 attached to the outer extremity of arm 82. A setscrew 84 carried by socket 80 engages post 78 to hold the post in a selected position of adjustment in socket 8i). Accordingly, the frame 68 is easily removed from post 78, and the post is very easily adjusted with respect to arm $2.

The inner extremity of the arm has a slide 84 which is engageable with the square tube 46 and adapted to traverse the square tube. Slide 84 is made of two plates 86 and 83 between which an upper set of rollers 90 are mounted and a lower set of rollers 92 are mounted. Transverse brace 94 welded to the two plates 86 and 88, has arm 82 fixed to it.. The sets of rollers 90 and 92 are identically constructed, each consisting of a spindle 96 with a plurality of roller bearings 98 mounted thereon and held spaced apart by means of spacers. Each roller bearing is made of an outer race, a plurality of balls 1&2, roller bearing pins or the like, an inner race 104 (FIGURE 6), and the two races and balls are united as. an assembly on sleeve 106 which is disposed on spindle 96..

The means 18 for lifting frame 16 is preferably manu-- ally operated and comprises cable 60 which is reeved over guides 108 and 110. Guide 108 consists of a pulley 112 attached to brace 62 nearest its upper end by means of a. pulley mounting bracket 114. Guide 110 is composed. of a pulley 116 attached to cap 56 by means of a pulley mounted bracket 120. The guide 110is vertically above: cap 56. A hook 122 is attached to the outer end of cable 60 and is engaged with an eye 124 welded or other-- wise secured to the arm 82 near its connection with slide 84. The opposite end of the cable is attached to a. winding drum 130, for instance by being engaged with eye:

132 at the inner part of the winding drum. A winding:

handle 134 is attached to the winding drum spindle 136,. and this spindle is mounted for rotation in a U-shaped bracket 138 to which sleeve 140 is welded or otherwise secured. Sleeve 140 has a setscrew 142 engaging thebrace 62, and the sleeve 140 is slidable in selected posi-- tions on the brace and adapted to be locked in place by tightening setscrew 42.

A ratchet locking mechanism 146 is connected with. the winding drum spindle 136 to hold the winding drum. in a selected position. The ratchet locking mechanism. preferably consists of a ratchet wheel 148 which is fixed. to the spindle 136 and located on the exterior of mount-- ing bracket 138. A ratchet pawl 150 is pivoted by pin: 152 to one side of the mounting bracket 138 and it has.

a ratchet pawl operating lever 156 connected with it- The lever is biased by spring 158 extending around guide: pin 160. The spring reacts on bracket 166 that is attached to mounting bracket 138 and the lever 156. The bracket 166 has an opening 168 in it through which guide pin 160 is movable. Inspection of FIGURE 7 is selfexplanatory as to the operation of the ratchet. The dog 150 is spring biased to the ratchet wheel engaging position but is separable therefrom by manual movement of lever 156 to enable the winding drum to be manually rotated. This winding either Winds the cable 60 up or' lets it out depending on whether the panel supporting frame is to be raised or lowered.

The base adjustment makes it possible to retract the base and the upright adjustment makes it possible to rotate the upright so that the entire device is easily moved through a doorway without completely disassembling the device. The legs are adjustable so that the angularity of the work supporting surface is adjustable in accordance with the angle of the ceiling that is being constructed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a lift device for the installation of fiat panels and the like and for providing a Work area on which the flat panels and the like may be placed to prepare them for lifting a mobile base, an upright rotatably secured to said base for adjustment about its longitudinal axis, a

brace connected with said base and extending approximately upright therefrom, means rotatably connecting the upper ends of said upright and said brace, a work supporting frame, an arm to which said frame is adjustably secured, a slide connected with said arm and mounted on said upright, a lift mechanism including a cable attached to said arm, said lift mechanism carried by said brace, means at the upper extremity of said upright for guiding said cable, means adjustably securing said lift mechanism to said brace, said lift mechanism including a manually operated winding drum, a bracket on which said winding drum is mounted for rotation, and said cable attached to said winding drum.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said work supporting frame has a sleeve at approximately the center thereof, a post vertically adjustably secured to said arm and to which said sleeve is secured whereby the elevation of said frame with respect to said arm may be adjusted.

3. In a lift device for installing panels, a mobile base frame comprising parallel front and rear horizontal spaced members, a central bar comprising telescopic members connecting said horizontal members for adjustment to extend or shorten said frame, a post mounted on one of said telescopic members, an upright rotatable on said post about its longitudinal axis, vertically slidable means for supporting a panel mounted on said upright for horizontal swinging in response to rotation of said upright about its longitudinal axis, a brace for said upright rising from said one telescopic member, and means rotatably securing the upper end of said upright to said brace for rotation of said upright relative to said brace.

4. The combination of claim 3, said last-named means comprising a cap on said upright secured to said brace.

5. A lift device for installing panels comprising a base including an extensible and contractible horizontal frame, an upright mounted for rotary adjustment on said frame, a slide operable on the upright and rotatable therewith, a horizontal arm fixed on said slide, a horizontal panel supporting frame mounted for rotary adjustment in a horizontal plane on said arm, and means for raising and lowering the slide on the upright.

6. A lift device for installing overhead panels comprising a base including a horizontal frame, an upstanding pin fixed on said frame at an intermediate point, a tubular upright journaled on said pin, a horizontal arm mounted for vertical movement on said upright and projecting forwardly therefrom, a horizontal panel supporting frame rotatably adjustable in a horizontal plane on the arm, a brace mounted on the base frame rearwardly of the pin, a cap fixed on one end of the brace and rotatably receiving the upper end portion of the upright for operatively connecting said brace thereto, and means for raising and lowering the arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,799,307 Manley Apr. 7, 1931 2,419,813 Berchtold Apr. 29, 1947 2,666,212 Flanders Jan. 19, 1954 2,729,196 Breitenback Jan. 3, 1956 2,815,132 Stone Dec. 3, 1957 2,815,251 Stone Dec. 3, 1957 

